L.A. Companies Surge After Rate Cut

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The Los Angeles Business Journal’s index of the 200 largest area public companies shot up nearly 3 percent seconds after the Federal Reserve Board of Governors announced it was cutting a key interest rate by a half point.


In a move that surprised most, the Fed slashed the rate for the first time in more than four years bleeding some pressure from a market strangled by a credit crunch and housing slump, which had swelled investor discontent. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 336 points in the final hours of trading.


Some of the biggest gainers Tuesday on the Business Journal’s index were home lender Anworth Mortgage Asset Corp., which gained 13 percent, luxury home builder Ryland Group, which gained 9.5 percent, and on-line real estate listing provider Move Inc., which gained 9.4 percent.


The world’s largest real estate broker and the nation’s largest mortgage lender, CB Richard Ellis and Countrywide Financial Corp., gained 7.9 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively. Santa Monica lender Fremont General Corp. gained 7.4 percent and Pasadena-based lender IndyMac Bancorp Inc. added 2.8 percent.


Of the 200 companies listed on the index, 163 either gained or remained unchanged after the announcement.

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